Add as a preferred source on Google Rhea Ripley’s injury has forced another major change to WWE’s plans for SummerSlam, which will take place on August 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Ripley has been absent since Clash in Italy, where she defeated Jade Cargill and retained the WWE Women’s Championship. After that, the champion still worked live events on the European tour, but she was already wearing a brace on her leg.
On the June 12 episode of SmackDown, Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore announced that Ripley was being evaluated for a knee injury suffered in Italy. Since then, WWE has avoided setting a firm date for the champion’s return.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original SummerSlam plan was for Ripley to defend the WWE Women’s Championship against either Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne.
Jayne had been gaining momentum as an option largely because of Fatal Influence. The faction, made up of Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid, made its presence felt on SmackDown by attacking Paige, Brie Bella, Charlotte Flair, and Alexa Bliss before Jayne faced Ripley in a non-title match.
Bliss, on the other hand, also remained connected to the situation. The issue is that Ripley’s physical status has started to affect the entire direction of the division. Recent reports indicated that WWE had several scenarios in place in case Rhea is not cleared in time for SummerSlam.
At this point, Ripley has not been stripped of the WWE Women’s Championship. In other words, the company is still working with the possibility of keeping her as champion, even as her match in Minneapolis remains completely undefined.